


College Life

by bookwormyangel



Category: Lunar Chronicles - Marissa Meyer
Genre: F/M, clearing out that old fanfiction.net account, this was a (supposed to be) a collection once upon a time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-26
Updated: 2015-11-26
Packaged: 2018-10-10 08:07:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10433187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookwormyangel/pseuds/bookwormyangel
Summary: After a laundry mishap, it's all out bubble war between Cinder and Kai. Originally supposed to be a college collection, now just a oneshot.





	

It was three in the morning, but Cinder could still hear rustling down the hall in the rec room and smell something from the kitchen. Shifting her small laundry basket under her arm, she used her forearm crutches to nudge the laundry door open. Stepping into the room, she blinked. The lights were a blinding white this late at night.

Cinder made her way slowly to the washing machines, dropping her laundry basket when she got to one. Huffing, she angled herself so that she could kick over her basket and maintain her balance on one crutch. When her little load of greys and blacks tipped and spilled onto the stark linoleum, Cinder unhooked one of her crutches and bent down to scoop up the small pile.

There wasn’t much Cinder could do now that she had prostheses for a leg and hand, but she didn’t let that slow her down from anything.

Sighing, Cinder threw her clothes into the machine, dumped in some detergent, and pulled out the few quarters she scrounged from her pants. There was a clatter, and the machine started to fill with water. Cinder smiled to herself. Miss Independent over here. She bent down to retrieve her laundry basket when there was a loud clang and the machine Cinder threw her clothes into started to shake, just subtly. The crutch that was leaning against the machine fell, and Cinder cursed.

The fallen crutch was the least of her worries though. In a heartbeat, the washing machine sputtered, and suds began seeping out of the top. Cinder cursed again, slightly louder, and dropped her basket. She carefully lowered herself onto the linoleum, unhooking her crutches and putting them against the wall, as suds soaked into her cargo pants. With a cursory glance, Cinder pulled dug in her pockets, pulling out a small everything tool. After a little fumbling, she managed to lay on her side to attempt and fix the rowdy machine. Since it was on, and dripping in sudsy water, there was only so much she could attempt to do. She tried to pinch the water supply, but it was tucked back at the edge of the machine, and whatever Cinder managed to pinch made water come out faster. A few choice words later, Cinder shifted, putting her face closer to the edge of the machine. Her pants were soaked, and her old green shirt was sticking to her back.

After fighting with the machine for several minutes, Cinder hit it with the tool in her hand, and tried to evade the attacking suds. Water covered the old linoleum and she could see it seeping under the door. Huffing, she figured it would be best to find outside help. Shifting so she was sitting in the suds, she grabbed the crutch that had fallen and pushed it against a separate machine, soap bubbles falling off of it. With a huff, she hoisted herself upwards, the soapy crutch slipping from her fingers very quickly. To try and save herself a fall, she threw her prosthetic hand over, dragging the other clutch towards her with a nudge.

“Hello?” A voice asked through the door, slowly pushing it open. Cinder could make out black tousled hair and caramel skin before her hand slipped from the foamy crutch and she slipped on the water covering the ground.

Her crutches hit the ground with a sharp bang, and Cinder dropped, landing heavily on her shoulder.

“Oh, God, are you okay?” the voice asked, rushing over to Cinder but skidding on the bubbles.

Cinder moved over, hissing when her shoulder throbbed. Warm hands grabbed her upper arms and moved her into a sitting position. Cinder could feel him squat in front of her, inspecting her for injuries.

“I’m fine,” Cinder said, opening her eyes. Kai Prince stared at her, his light brown eyes worried. Of course. Just her luck she’d be found by one of the most popular and well known guys on campus. “Can we just pretend this never happened?” Cinder asked, trying to find her crutches in the ever-growing bubble mess.

Kai looked around and chuckled. “I don’t think we’ll be able to do that,” he said, scooping some bubbles into his palm. “Not to mention it’s three thirty in the morning.”

Cinder shrugged, and regretted it immediately, her shoulder tensing. “Only time the machines are empty.” Cinder narrowed her eyes. “And if you’re going to scold me for murdering a washing machine at three thirty in the morning, what are you doing up then?”

Kai smiled. “Heating up noodles?”

Cinder recalled the smell when she first walked into the laundry room. “And failing, if the smell means anything,” she said, raising her eyebrows. Kai shrugged his shoulder sheepishly. “I’m not the best cook.”

“Clearly,” Cinder agreed, finally cracking somewhat of a smile. Kai smiled too, the tips of his ears a soft pink.

“You obviously aren’t the best clothes washer if this,” he gestured around the room, where the bubbles had finally stopped multiplying, “is the result.”

A laugh escaped Cinder’s lips. “I tried to fix it.” As if to prove her point, she fumbled around in the bubbles and revealed her very sudsy tool. “It didn’t work very well.” She dropped the tool onto her once-grey but now black cargo pants, and soap flew up. It splattered her face and Kai’s, who was so surprised he fell backwards, into even more soap.

Cinder was about to say sorry, when he sat up, a halo of white bubbles sitting on top of his pitch black hair. Instead, she laughed, harder than she had in months. “Oh, God, I’m so sorry!” she laughed through her apology. “But you should- you should see your- your _face_!” Kai, shocked, was gaping, staring at Cinder like he was a fish out of water. He cracked a smile when Cinder kept laughing, her face flushed.

“Wait,” Kai said as Cinder started to calm down. “You’ve got something right,” he leaned over, bubbles in hand, “here!” he shouted, smearing Cinder’s surprised mouth with bubbles. Cinder was absolutely quiet for several seconds, and Kai was afraid he’d crossed a line, when, in a flash, Cinder scooped up more bubbles and gave him a beard. Kai recovered quicker this time, and threw a handful of bubbles at Cinder.

“It’s war!” Cinder yelled, scooping up armfuls of bubbles and throwing them at Kai aimlessly, the pain in her shoulder, and her embarrassment, all but forgotten. When Kai stood up and took shelter behind a nearby dryer, Cinder deflated, her smile faltering and arms dropping to her lap. Kai peeked out from behind, wondering why the onslaught of bubbles had stopped, when he saw Cinder digging through them instead. He was about to ask her what she was doing when she lifted up a black crutch with a band and what looked like grips. Kai faltered, moving back from the dryer.

“I…didn’t realize,” he said, the laundry room suddenly very quiet.

“Yeah, no.” She shook her head. “It’s not obvious…like this,” Cinder said, gesturing at the mess of bubbles. “Don’t worry about it,” she continued, the room suddenly thick with tension.

They stayed like that, Cinder avoiding Kai’s eyes, and Kai watching Cinder like a hawk. When she managed to get her right arm through the crutch, Kai jumped into action, walking over towards her.

“At least let me help,” he said, eyes still bright. Cinder was inclined to say no, that she could do it, but there were bubbles everywhere, and she still needed to stand up. With a curt nod, Kai took her arm, looking as her prosthetic hand dangled. He helped to push her arm into the band, but Cinder inhaled sharply, and Kai was afraid he’d hurt her. “My shoulder,” Cinder clarified.

When Cinder was able to stand on her own, and the crutches weren’t sliding everywhere, Kai stepped back.

“You’re Cinder Linh,” he stated, grabbing a towel and mopping up some of the bubbles.

“My reputation precedes me,” she said, voice steady. Kai didn’t turn around, but continued clearing a path to the door. When he was done, he turned around and cleared his throat. “I had a nice night,” he said, smiling slightly.

Cinder looked at him for a minute before giving him a small smile. “I did too,” she said, making her way over to where he was standing by the door.

“Maybe we could…do this again sometime?” He asked shyly.

Cinder raised her eyebrows. “Have a bubble fight in the middle of the night?”

“No!” Kai floundered for a minute. “I meant, maybe we could go out. Get some coffee?” He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, his face warming.

Cinder contemplated for a moment, and Kai was sure she was going to say no when she answered, “Sure. Though I’m a tea person.”

Kai smiled, dropping his hand and sticking them in his pockets instead. “Great! I’ll meet you out front tomorrow?”

Cinder nodded, and the two made their way out of the laundry room.

They were just about to turn a corner, headed to the elevator, when Cinder stopped and started back tracking. “Where are you going?” Kai asked, confused.

Cinder kept going, her crutches clacking on the thinly carpeted floor.

“I forgot my clothes!” 


End file.
